No, not the result of a complete blockage forcing SH1 traffic back along the old road; just very thin traffic at about 1:30 pm yesterday, looking northeast from the Ngarara Road overbridge.

Published yesterday, US time.

Today is the first of the two equinoxes of the year which in the northern hemisphere mark the official end of summer or winter.

Greater Wellington Regional Council is advising people not to swim or walk dogs off-lead in and around the Waikanae River below SH1 due to high levels of toxic algae.

Latest assessments show that toxic algae exceed safe levels in the river west of SH1, where river stones are covered and detached mats have been seen.

“With continuing warm weather and a dry spell, we are seeing late season growth, so we are urging people to be careful near the Waikanae River in particular, says Dr Mark Heath, Senior Environmental Scientist at Greater Wellington.”

Toxic algae are below warning levels in all other monitored waterways throughout the region.

Full article on the KC News website

Readers of the Kapiti Independent News, which Roger was a part of till late last year when he parted ways with Alan Tristram and joined our collaborators, will remember the ‘Food for Thought’ pieces.

by Roger Childs

haka — a Maori ceremonial war dance involving chanting.

Are we becoming a country where at an event or function, if in doubt, do a haka? We are familiar with the All Blacks performing a vigorous haka before test matches with belligerent gestures and chanting befitting a war dance. Most Kiwis would probably see these as appropriate.

However, at the Hikoi of Poisoned Nation last year it was out of place. Every hour or so at the gathering in parliament grounds there would be a haka. I struggled to see the relevance of war dances at a campaign meeting to stop poisoning our land and end the killing of birds, animals, fish and insects with 1080.

Back in the early 19th century, haka were frequently performed before battles – a prelude to the killing fields. But are haka appropriate to remember the Christchurch mosque tragedies? Vigils, candles, flowers, message boards and quiet contemplation have all had their place and sent the right messages. But now our mayor, and his counterpart in Porirua, are promoting schools doing hakas on Friday, a week after the killings in Christchurch. Surely war dances are not appropriate to pay tribute to the Muslim dead and wounded?

What did the Chiefs and Hurricanes do before their match last Friday evening? They stood in a circle shoulder to shoulder and observed a minute’s silence. That was highly appropriate and was repeated at sports fixtures around the nation and the world. The students would do well to follow that example.

It appears as the personal full-page statement shown above in this week’s Kapiti News (apparently it was felt that the Kapiti Observer isn’t worth bothering with).

This was a result of official mediation which included other aspects that have made the Osbornes happy.  As we previously reported, Guru was invited to do this in 2017, but was too arrogant to do so.  Perhaps his (council) lawyers persuaded him that a loss in court would not be a good look in election year?

How much council staff time, particularly the highly paid in-house council lawyer Mr Power, was spent on a private matter that should not have been a charge on ratepayers?  We’ll ask.

There are times when after experiencing idiots, not just ones like the man who made the news in Christchurch last Friday, we need calmness and serenity to recuperate.  This scene by Karl Webber should demonstrate that.

14 billion pounds = 6,350,000 tonnes.   Info on the problem.

hi Waikanae Beach Residents,  

Just a quick note to update you on activities we have been up to this financial year.

• Waikanae Beach Residential Zoning: We continue to press for getting the Old Beach area zoned by KCDC in the Proposed District Plan as Beach Residential, like all the other key beach areas on the Coast, to preserve its special character. We understand those residing in the Old Beach Area have received a letter from KCDC where they have identified the elements of the suggested planning changes for you to respond to.

An Official Information request

to KCDC on a number of key matters relevant to Waikanae Beach produced the following responses.

• Rates:
• Rates collected from the total beach area over the last three financial years amounted to:
  • 2016/17 – $5,976,812;
  • 2017/18 – $6,389,248;
  • 2018/19 – $7,296,707
• A 22 percent increase in rates take over 2 years from the beach area. Have we seen a 22 percent increase in services and capital works over this period?? Waikanae beach now has the highest valuations and household rates on the Kapiti Coast. We will continue to follow this up with KCDC to make sure we get our fair share of services and infrastructure.
  

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• Traffic: The change in traffic volume to the Beach in Te Moana Road over the last 2 years prior to and after the expressway. This is the total number of movements into/out of the beach (ie taken around the golf course).  Unfortunately, the figures provided were for August (late winter when we would have our minimum traffic volume).
  • 31/8/2016 – 52,222 vehicles total weekly volume
  • 22/8/2017 – 60,360 vehicles total weekly volume
  • 8/8/2018 – 61,085 vehicles total weekly volume
• We also recently got traffic numbers for the 1st week of April 2017 (Not Easter, Not school holidays) which may allow an estimation of summer numbers – the total was 64,488.
  

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• Te Moana Road Changes: We met KCDC staff regarding the proposed adjustments to roading at Te Moana / Rauparaha Intersection and Ono Street/Te Moana Road and other traffic issues. The objective is to improve road safety. 
• A traffic volume increase of 17 percent in winter traffic to the Beach. There is a need to have the services available to cope with this increase in traffic and people eg parking, toilets cleaned, rubbish bins emptied more regularly and the place tided.
• KCDC is proposing two key changes to the traffic flow at Te Moana/Rauparaha street intersection and Te Moana/Ono street. Consideration is being given to road improvements including curbing, from the expressway to Warwicks Garage in the future.  
• The Society has always supported a Peka Peka interchange and we will continue to do so.
  

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• Capital and other expenditures to be carried out in 2018/19
  • Information was provided on Parks, Tracks and Coastal Activities – $308,926
  • Access and Transport – $200,000
  • Water and wastewater over two years – $128,000
• The long-term plan has 21 stormwater projects listed over a 20 year period at an estimated total investment of $10.18 million or just over $500,000 per year for the beach.
• Many of you will have had stormwater inspections late last year as well. We are following up what the outcomes were.
  

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• Waikanae Beach Community Hall: We sought to find out the use of and funding gathered from the Waikanae Beach Community Hall.
• A total of 535 individual functions were carried out. The long-term plan has $10,000 a year on maintenance allocated (less then what is recovered in fees) until $500,000 will be spent many years in the future. Currently the hall is rated below 34 percent of the earthquake risk. The hall is used about 20 percent of available time.
• Its time we got a new hall. It can easily be paid for by the extra $1.3 million extra a year being collected in rates. We would value your views. Does anybody know when the hall was built?
  

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• Emergency Management: Members have been actively engaged in emergency management activities, including assessing ways to look for emergency escape routes for Waikanae Beach North residents in case the Waimeha Bridge and the Peka Peka route are both closed.
• It is also of interest to note the increased fire risk with the warm summers we are getting and the increase in plantation forests surrounding built up centre on the Coast. The beach is also a high-risk fire area during our dry summers. We only need to see the outcomes of recent international fires and our own in the Christchurch Port Hills and recently in Nelson. What plans do we have locally and who is responsible?
  

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• Parks: We have asked Council to develop a plan for Waikanae Beach Parks, just like has been recently done for McLean Park at Paraparaumu Beach. In particular for the Tutere Street Waimea Domain — improving tree safety, replacement planting for when the current trees become over mature and to address any traffic issues including parking.
• • The WBRSI has also been provided with a locally developed plan for traffic calming down Tutere Street as well as a design for a beach promenade-like style in front of Waimea Domain.
  • Regarding the Tutere St precinct, we have (informally) approached KCDC, and have been told
    • it’s a local reserve so no specific plan,
    • the roads and reserves people don’t have a joint plan for the area,
    • there is no intention to develop a plan, and this is most likely to happen based on a case being put forward by the residents and endorsed by the Community Board.
• Should we be thinking about what the future of the beach might look like, particularly with the significantly increased day traffic with the new Expressway which will only increase once Transmission Gully is open
  

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• Waimeha River mouth upgrading and long-term dune restoration
• Members keep an eye on the Waimeha stream mouth and alert Regional Council if any modification to stream direction becomes necessary.
• The continual erosion of sandunes alone the Waikanae Beach coast is becoming an increasing concern. We support the Dune Restoration efforts along the beach.
  

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Local Body Elections

• This year is Local Body Election year. Last time we held a meeting of candidates to address local Waikanae Beach concerns. We intend to do this again. Please let us know what you want raised at any such meeting.
  

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Next Annual General Meeting

• To be held at the Waikanae Beach Community Hall, 8 June 2019, 1.30 to 3.00 pm. All welcome. Keep this date and time free.

Committee Members Needed

• We have several vacancies on the WBRSI committee. Contribute to our local community and join the committee. Email   if you are interested.

Please distribute this Newsletter and invite your friends to become members of the Society. We need your ongoing support to address local beach concerns. You can use the application form attached.                                                                                              

Regards

Gerald Rys, WBRSI Chair